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If you watch TV, you’ve probably seen the ad: a series of quick shots of white folks of various types (chic young women; a straight couple in tennis duds with their dogs; a guy in a retro brown suit and bowtie) smiling and styling while a catchy, old school pop tune plays. The ad is for the Venetian Hotel’s new “Come as You Are” campaign; the tune is “Tintorella di Luna”, by the Italian singer, Mina.

by PopMatters Staff

Last year Mr. Robot was the monster hit of summer, thrilling audiences with its torn-from-the-headlines plots. The series wound up scoring massive critical acclaim winning both the 2015 Peabody Award and Critics’ Choice Award, as well as earning numerous acting nominations and awards. Now our hero Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) is back to light up this summer with more nail-biting, edge of your seat stories.

by PopMatters Staff

BBC America has announced that cult favorite Orphan Black returns for its fourth season on April 14th at 10.00pm EST.

The sisters have finally settled into some sense of normalcy. Sarah, reunited with her foster mum Mrs S. (Maria Doyle Kennedy), daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler) and the clone original, Kendall Malone (Alison Steadman) at an Icelandic hideout; Alison, enjoying the spoils of the drug trade with husband Donnie (Kristian Bruun) and helping the once rabid Helena settle into domesticity; and Cosima, hard at work on a cure for her illness with lab partner Scott (Josh Vokey). We find Sarah’s battle-worn foster brother Felix (Jordan Gavaris) accepting that he’s been left behind, and trying to pick up the pieces of his life – post ‘clone gate’; and Rachel (Maslany), the clever self-aware clone reunited with her ‘mother,’ Susan Duncan (Rosemary Dunsmore) and attempting a reconciliation. But peace and calm seldom lasts long with this lot and Sarah’s hard won tranquility is disrupted when she receives a call that thrusts her right back in harm’s way. A mysterious ally tied to Beth leads Sarah back to where it all started. She’ll follow Beth’s footsteps into a dangerous relationship with a potent new enemy, heading in a horrifying but familiar direction.

Today, as US political campaigns take on communities of color—whether trying to win or suppress their votes—we might remember a time when Black Lives were not on TV. This changed with the Black Panthers. Indeed, as The Black Panthers: Vanguard of a Revolution observes, the Panthers were a spectacle made for television. They knew it, played to it, and built on it.

When the list of the 58th Annual Grammy nominations was announced two months ago, the biggest surprise was that there were no big surprises. There was some talk about why Adele wasn’t among the honorees (because 25 was released after the Academy’s 2015 cut-off date) and the entertainment press liked pointing out how Paul McCartney came to be nominated for Best Rap Performance, but industry insiders are rather bored by this year’s roster. Still, it’s not easy to predict who will win or lose in the major categories, which are the awards most likely to be shown on the big broadcast. Until tonight, let’s speculate.